Inside Massachusetts’ Race to Lead the Future of AI

AI has become the defining technology race of the decade (if not the century), with governments, universities, and investors around the world competing to build ecosystems that will produce the next generation of leaders. Massachusetts has a plausible claim to that mantle: a well-known network of research universities, deep talent in fields such as biotech and robotics, and a long history of turning scientific discovery into commercial platforms.

Sabrina Mansur is helping turn that potential into a coordinated strategy. As director of the Massachusetts AI Hub, she brings experience in policy, R&D, and commercialization to the table as the Bay State competes to become a leading center for AI innovation. In the conversation with Startup Boston, Mansur discusses how the MA AI Hub is reducing friction for startups by expanding access to compute and data, building the AI talent pipeline, and connecting founders with partners who can help them scale.

Startup Boston (SB): How does your background shape how you think about building the Hub?

Sabrina Mansur (SM): My background comes from systems thinking, and I’ve worked in research and development, as well as commercialization. I can see how innovation moves from academic research through the scaling of companies. When I think about the Hub, I’m focused on how we reduce friction points along that journey.

With AI, that includes compute, access to data, and making sure we have a talent pipeline that can support the growing need in Massachusetts for AI skills – whether it’s new drug discovery or robotics and physical AI. I’m excited about the impact we’re already having.

SB: When you talk about “friction points” – compute, talent pipeline, and so on – what feels stickiest in Massachusetts?

SM: Massachusetts has long been recognized for its great talent; that’s why companies build here and why startups can be successful here, too. We want to make sure we stay strong in that area. One thing we’ve launched is a jobs board at the MA AI Hub that aggregates AI openings across our ecosystem. There are already about 1,200 listings.

AI also creates opportunities for talent to come from anywhere, so we’re focused on widening access. We recently held an event where we announced a partnership with Google to provide free AI training across the state, and we’re already seeing strong interest in that program. Through the Grow with Google program, there are AI skills-building courses available to every Massachusetts resident.

SB: Massachusetts has strength in biotech and robotics – but in the United States alone we’re also competing with Silicon Valley, New York, Seattle, etcetera. How do you think about competing with other AI hubs? Where do we need to focus to be more competitive?

SM: We’re leaning into our strengths. We have a strong density of talent and a lot of innovation coming out of our academic institutions. People often assume that because the density exists, innovation and connections just happen, but there’s real work to be done.

A key role for the MA AI Hub is to connect people so that academic innovation can meet talent, and startups can move faster – for example, by doing pilots with enterprises or hospitals more quickly, rather than getting stuck in long business development cycles.

SB: Do we have innate advantages over Silicon Valley that people are missing?

SM: I think so. What’s extraordinary is the amount of energy and willingness to help that has shown up since we started this Hub. Many people are leaning in and want to help, and they’re not necessarily looking for compensation; they care about the state and the ecosystem, and they want startups to be successful.

SB: Beyond events, what are other ways the Hub is facilitating connections?

SM: I’m really excited about our compute collaboration. We announced it in December: we’ve partnered with leading academic institutions on compute, and we have a data center in Holyoke – the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center – with significant compute and storage assets.

The state and the partner universities have invested in that asset, and the MA AI Hub retains a portion of the compute to support development and innovation for the startup ecosystem here.

SB: What else is a priority for the year?

SM: A major focus for this year is bringing our AI compute resource (AICR) online and making it available to support the ecosystem in the coming months.  

SB: For founders considering Massachusetts, what misconceptions do you see? What should they focus on as they think about building here?

SM: I heard a story from a founder who came out of one of the cohorts that graduated from our AI BioHub accelerator investment. He talked about moving from Connecticut and the intensity of support here: mentorship, access to first customers, grant program funding, and access to the community. Everything happened much faster than he expected.

For startup success, time is really valuable, and we’re able to condense a lot of that timeline for founders.

SB: Is there anything we didn’t touch on, or anything you want to emphasize?

SM: I’d leave with this: Massachusetts is focused on being a phenomenal place to apply AI to real-world, game-changing solutions. We’re taking a coordinated approach across compute, data, and talent, and we’re already seeing signs of success and growth.

About the author: Randall Woods is a former Bloomberg journalist and currently Senior Vice President at SBS Comms, a communications agency for technology companies.